To begin with, let me tell you a little story that my mother likes to tell. When the call comes for everyone to leave California, the instructions will be the last one out has to turn the lights off. After the lights go off, a voice will come out of the darkness: “Hey! Turn those lights back on, I’m still in here.” That will be me. It actually has a ring of truth. Some of my reasons for loving Southern California are the beautiful weather, which is second to none; the endless array of outdoor activities; and the beautiful array of fauna and flora, which blooms or flowers year-round.Living in the entertainment capital of the world isn’t bad, either. I did say “some of the reasons.” I’ll just stop here and elaborate.
First off, I have five children (all grown), who were born here and are as enamored with Southern California as I am. We do have points of reference, as we have traveled all over the U.S. I am originally from Atlanta, Georgia. Now, I’m not saying that we don’t like any other places that we’ve traveled to or lived in—I’m only saying that I love Southern California, due in large part to the things that I have named.
Now, on to the weather. Southern California weather is relatively dry (humidity and otherwise). We hardly have any rain in the summer. Some would complain about the lack of rain, but not me. You see during the summer (my favorite time of the year), you can plan outdoor activities and they are almost always sure to take place. I say almost because we have an occasional summer “chill.” Of course, we haven’t had one of those in years. We do, however, have what is commonly known as June gloom (though we haven’t had one this year) that begins some years in May and last throughout May and June. During that time, we have overcast weather. Even then, we can have successful outdoor activities. The best part of the weather is that no matter how hot it is during the day, it cools down enough at night to sleep without using an air conditioner. Well, on that part, I speak for myself. The winters are not bad either. I have not owned an overcoat in over thirty-five years … even then I didn’t wear it. I only wear sweater coats. I don’t own any wool clothes. Okay, let me stop on that.
The flora and fauna are totally out of this world. I’ve seen some of the most beautiful plants and flower in the world just growing wild. In some neighborhoods, every other house grows some sort of fruit or nut tree in their yard, especially citrus trees (lemon, orange, grapefruit). Also, grapes grow everywhere. I have or have had orange, lemon, grapes, peach, nectarine, figs, plum, apple, and pear trees. It doesn’t take much property, skill, or care to grow these. So you don’t have to have a green thumb. I never buy lemons, because even if mine are not in bloom, one of my friends’ trees is. Okay, enough of that.
Finally, the reason that I love it here the most: the outdoor activities—beginning with the amusement parks, such as Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Six Flags, and many, many more. There are the annual events that take place also. To name a few, there’s the Strawberry Festival, endless Jazz Festivals, and others too numerous to name. But my all-time favorite is the Los Angeles County Fair. When our children were young, we had annual rituals. We took them to Knotts Berry Farm, the Zoo, and the L.A. County Fair every year. Every other year we went to Disneyland, Six Flags, and others. The beach was always on the list. Some of our vacations were spent on driving up or down the coast: to San Diego, San Francisco, Canada, Mexico, etc. These are memories that our children (and also we) can cherish for a lifetime. This is why the weather plays a big part in why I love Southern California. Now that the children are gone and I am no longer married, I don’t do a lot of those things. I have found a few new things to do that don’t require children or a husband. I do continue to enjoy my all time favorite activities: the Jazz festivals, the Strawberry Festival and others, and my most cherished of all, the L.A. County Fair. I attend the fair no less than five times during its three-week run. Most years I try to attend about ten times. When I can’t find anyone to go with me, I attend alone, which is perfectly safe.
Since it’s the entertainment capital of the world, I get to see free movie and TV show premieres. The Staples Center, the Rose Bowl, Universal Studios, and the like are wonders in themselves. There are numerous promenades, walks, beaches, etc., that are very entertaining also. I guess you can tell that outdoor activities are important to me. So, in a nutshell, these are some of the reasons why I love Southern California. I could go on and on, but you probably wouldn’t read on and on. So, suffice it to say: I love Southern California!
